Football and wrestling go together like tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Wrestling and baseball? Not so much, unless you’re Kyle Fleming.
As unconventional as it sounds, it’s what he does, and he’s quite good at both.
“Yeah, I know, it’s a little different. But I’m a different kind of person,” Fleming said.
Fleming wrestles at 195 pounds and will compete in the Class 3A Grant Regional on Saturday. Lake Zurich is among the stronger teams in the regional and will aim to qualify many wrestlers for the Barrington Sectional the following week.
“We’ll be at full strength for regionals, and at full strength, I truly believe we have an excellent chance of winning the team championship while also advancing a bunch of guys into sectionals,” said Fleming, who along with Nick Swanson (132 pounds) sat out the Lake County Invitational on Saturday to rest up for the state series.
Without Fleming and Swanson, the Bears placed sixth out of 14 teams with 115 points. Stevenson won the meet with 194.
Senior Josh Dyer (23-5) won the 220-pound title for Lake Zurich’s only first-place medal. Mike Bertoia (16-2) was the runner-up at 285.
Dyer and Bertoia are Fleming’s training partners in the Lake Zurich wrestling room.
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“My partners in the room are fantastic and are part of the reason for what I’ve been able to achieve thus far,” Fleming said.
Fleming is a second-year starter and was a sectional qualifier a year ago. He’s 24-4 this season and No. 12 in the state, according to the IllinoisMatmen.com Class 3A rankings.
“The biggest thing for Kyle this year is his confidence,” Bears head coach Dan Strickler said. “Last year he hoped he would win. This year he expects to win.”
Fleming played baseball from a young age, and when his father suggested he add a second sport, he chose wrestling in fifth grade. Each year brought a new challenge on the mat, but also more enjoyment.
Fleming, an admitted hitting fanatic, still spends every Sunday in the batting cages in advance of his final baseball season. But on every other day, he’s focused on the final month of wrestling season.
“I love seeing Kyle in the zone, because it becomes a series of smooth, controlled moves that flow seamlessly from one to the next,” Strickler said. “He hates to give up points, so he has developed the ability to continue to score from whatever position he’s in.”
Fleming said he’s been admitted to seven of his nine college choices, and some have offered him academic scholarships. Among his favorites are Illinois, Cincinnati, Colorado, Texas and Rose-Hulman, a top engineering school in Terre Haute, Ind.
“My first choice would be Auburn,” Fleming said. “My visit there was amazing, as was the campus.”
Michael Garofola is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press